Social Navigation

Enhanced Box Score: Cubs 4, Pirates 5 – May 21, 2013

It was quite clear tonight that Matt Garza had great stuff in his return to the rotation after 10 months in injury-induced banishment – he didn’t give up a hit until the 5th inning, and it was a poke blooper by Clint Barmes. What he didn’t have was perfect command of his pitches, which you would expect in his first start in such a long time. Don’t read that as a knock on his start, because I don’t mean it that way. I mean only that he went deep into counts with a lot of hitters, and ran up his pitch count early. You’d have liked to have seen him go deeper into the game, but, all in all, you just can’t complain about that start.

And thus ended the meaningful portion of the game.

From there, the bullpen conspired to blow the game in favor of the Pirates, and, on the flip side, you ain’t coming back on the Pirates’ bullpen this year (though the Cubs did make sure to do their teaser rally in the 9th, scoring on Jason Grilli and leaving the tying run at third).

Darwin Barney had a ridiculously awesome night, by the way. So I guess he and Garza are the story, even though everyone will focus on the loss and this …

Disclaimer

In addition to news, Bleacher Nation publishes both rumor and opinion, as well as information reported by other sources. Information on Bleacher Nation may contain errors or inaccuracies, though we try to avoid them. Links to content and the quotation of material from other news sources are not the responsibility of Bleacher Nation. Photos used are the property of Bleacher Nation, are used under a license with Getty Images, are used with permission, are fair use, or are believed to be in the public domain. Legitimate requests to remove copyrighted photos not in the public domain will be honored promptly. Comments by third parties are neither sponsored or endorsed by Bleacher Nation.

Bleacher Nation Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Bleacher Nation is a private media site, and it is not affiliated in any way with Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the Chicago Cubs, or the Chicago Bears. None of MLB, the NFL, the Chicago Cubs, or the Chicago Bears have endorsed, supported, directed, or participated in the creation of the content at this site, or in the creation of the site itself. It's just a media site that happens to cover MLB, the NFL, the Chicago Cubs, and the Chicago Bears.

Bleacher Nation is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.